Wednesday: Day 3 on the job

 This morning we woke up a little before 8 am and had French toast for breakfast. It was once again, delicious! After we ate, we made our sandwiches and headed into the vans and left for work. Once we got to the worksite we were assigned our jobs and got to work. The girls touched up all the lattice pieces so the guys could attach them to the house in the afternoon. In the morning the guys worked on taking care of the landscaping in the front and took out the old bushes and placed new mulch and flowers. Kim and Chris also finished painting Myla’s (the homeowner's daughter) room purple. Her reaction was priceless when she saw her new room! She also gave Kim a little flower she picked which was super cute:) We took our lunch break at a local park and played more competitive games of Uno. Back at the worksite, Chris and some of the other guys used a circular saw to cut the lattice and then attach it. While the guys attached the lattice the girls loaded the trailer full of all the shrubs, trees, and growth removed from the yard this week and worked on cleaning up the work area like folding tarps and cleaning all the paint supplies. After work we all enjoyed freezing cold showers and played some Phase 10 before dinner. Tonight we had ribs and potato salad which was amazing!!! We then did our devotion on the transfiguration and got to hear from Michael about the importance of having your foundation built on Jesus and why we as Christian’s need mountaintops, valleys, and the in between, as they all help us grow in our faith. We then took a much deserved trip to Chick-fil-A for some shakes and headed to bed for the night. 

~ Ashlynn Raih

We woke up this morning bright and early and went to breakfast at 8:00 sharp. We had some nutritious french toast and sausage patties. Then we headed out to the site for the day. There we started off with a game and devo and then got started on work! Some of the boys finished up the painting of the back shed while the others worked on the landscape on the front of the house. The landscape really pulled the whole project together and made it look so much better. While they did that the girls worked on the lattice again, apparently we had a lot of places to do touch ups before we could cut it and put it along the trailer. Then we had lunch at the park again and played a competitive game of uno. After lunch, Brittney brought her daughter Myla home from a church vbs and got to see her freshly painted purple room! She was so excited and loved it so much! Then the boys began cutting and putting up the lattice along the edge of the house, which also really pulled it all together. During this time a few of us also helped fill a trailer up with some trees and brush for Michael to bring to the dump, and those branches were pointy! The combination of sweat, paint, and mulch really made everyone ready for a cold shower at the end of the day! Then during chapel we heard Michael talk about his testimony and how even though we always look forward to the mountaintops, it’s the time in the valleys that we learn from the most.  Then after chapel we made an impromptu decision to go to chick fil a for shakes. What a great way to end the day!!

~ Amie Burgard

Morning coffee and devious as we prep for the day

Breakfast and lunch making time

Devos and a short game before work at our job site 

Andrew and Caleb ripped out the old bushes and flowers, raked the flower bed and prepped it new mulch and plants

The never-ending work of painting and touching up lattice

Kim spent some time organizing all of the tools that we use at the job site

A quick popsicle break. Joey and Daniel did a great job painting the back portion of the shed - inside and out.

Ready for the lattice

And now the flowers

Starting to come together

The mulch is in and the flower are watered

Jackson and Caleb helping Michael (Team leader) move a trailer closer to the brush pile

Time to load up all the debris in the trailer

A look at a pic from Monday...

The front looks great. According to Brittney (the owner) it looks a thousand times better!!  Such a blessing to be a blessing!

Installing more lattice

Got to spend a little time in the AC with Kim getting the walls painted for Myla, Brittney's daughter

Measuring and cutting lattice

A brief break after cleaning up the front

A couple final touches for the day

Ready to head back!

Caleb up in front talking about what we accomplished at our work site today

Made it through another day!  We didn't get any good pics of our group devos, worship time or our run to Chic-fil-A for shakes, but we had a great night.  Everyone recovered well after a really hot day.  I think more than the first two days, the heat got the best of many of us today. It was sunny with "feels like temps" around 110 today.  Cold showers and plenty of fluids helped revive us. We are excited to finish up our work tomorrow.  Time for some sleep!  Thanks again for all of your prayers! We are having some good discussions and bonding time as a group!